


To Be Strong

by Crollalanza



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Gen, Team Dynamics, Timeskip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:28:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23331652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crollalanza/pseuds/Crollalanza
Summary: To celebrate being scouted by the Rockets, Goshiki Tsutomu has a meal with the Shiratorizawa team, including his former senpais who appear to have invited themselves. Except for one. Ushijima Wakatoshi, the one person he wants to acknowledge him, is too busy or has maybe forgotten about his former kouhai.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 47
Collections: Valentine's Day Lockers 2020





	To Be Strong

When he was scouted by Azuma Pharmacy Green Rockets, Goshiki received a plethora of messages, ranging from _‘Well done, Goshiki-san!’_ from one of the Shiratorizawa first years he’d captained, to a snide _‘Who?’_ from his former Captain and Setter, Shirabu, and then a _‘WEYHEYYYY THAT’S SO COOL, KIDDO!’_ from Tendou-san.

He’d followed the chat constantly for the first few days, checking to see if anyone else left a message, but after the first week, he checked less and less, becoming despondent.

Despondency, though, soon hardened into resolve. And even before he’d officially joined the Rockets, he set up an interim training schedule, focusing on weights.

_I need to be strong._

“Interesting team,” Semi pondered. “Isn’t that where Kiryuu is?”

“Yes, Semi-san!” Tsutomu replied, trying to resist the inbuilt urge to snap to attention every time a senpai spoke to him.

“He’s craaaaaazily strong,” Tendou added. He leant across the table to pick up the rice bowl, spooning some onto his plate. “This was a good idea of yours, Tsutomu-kun.”

“Hmm?”

“Inviting your senpais to your celebratory meal.”

“And not having it back at school,” Semi laughed. “The food was … uh … nutritious, but that was it.”

Tendou shuddered. “Don’t remind me.”

“I did—” Tsutomu began, then bit back the rest of the sentence, because so what if he hadn’t actually invited any of them to this meal, the fact was they were here, and it was kinda nice, even if they did make him feel like a first year stammering for words again.

“When do you start with the Rockets?” Reon asked, cutting through Tendou’s chatter with a quiet incisiveness.

“Um, officially next month, but I’m going for some introductory training sessions in a fortnight. He balled up the napkin in his lap, wondering whether to ask after Ushijima, but he knew what the reply would be.

_Busy,_ Reon would say kindly, not adding that their old Captain barely gave them a thought these days.

Tendou sat up straight. “Hey, you might get to play against Wakatoshi next season! ROAAAAD TRIP!”

“I’ll be a junior,” Tsutomu muttered. “He’s a first team player already.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Tendou replied. “But what if food poisoning strikes down half the Rockets’ Outside Hitters the day before the big match against the Adlers, and you’re the only guy left—”

“So tactful,” Semi laughed. “Goshiki-kun could make the team on merit without your machinations, Satori!”

But Tendou carried on, his eyes alight with excitement rather than malice, holding the whole table captive with his tale. “You’re called on to play, final match of the season, in Sendai stadium and the whole of Shiratorizawa is here to cheer for Ushiwaka, but as the team is announced, we all go crazy, ‘cuz there’s our kid, our first year, our favourite bowl-cut boy, with his green shirt—cool colour by the way, I’d look good in their kit—and now we don’t know who to cheer for because—” His head swivelled to Reon, “Hey, weren’t you tellin’ me somethin’ you’d found out about the new Adlers Setter?”

Reon smiled. “Mmm, wondered when you’d remember.”

“Who is it?” Semi asked. “Someone we know? Oh… is Oikawa Tooru back?”

Shaking his head, Reon sipped his water clearly relishing this moment of quiet while they waited. “Wakatoshi texted me three days ago. It’s not exactly a secret, but … Kageyama.”

“WHOAAAAA, REALLY?”

“He signed for them?”

“He has, and probably ousted their current setter already,” Reon replied, sounding calm. “Glad I’m not in that league. Their power’s going to be unstoppable.”

Tendou whistled out a sigh between his teeth. “That changes everything…”

“Huh?”

“That match Tsutomu’s gonna make his debut in.”

“The one you’re theorizing about,” Semi remarked, with a sigh.

“Yeah, that one.” Putting his arm across Tsutomu’s shoulders, he gave him a half hug. “Definitely cheering for you, then, kouhai!”

He was oddly touched, even if he knew Tendou probably didn’t mean it and if he did it was only based on his complete non-comprehension of guys like Kageyama. But none of that mattered, not now. His former senpais had turned up to wish him well, even Shirabu was here (looking exhausted and scowling if anyone asked him what Med School was like) so what did it matter if Tendou-san’s story was just that—a story. And what did it matter that once the invitation to celebrate had been aired (by Tendou, now he came to think about it) that Ushijima-san hadn’t deigned to reply.

He was busy. He was training and what time he had wouldn’t be wasted on an old teammate, a kouhai who he’d no doubt forgotten about as he climbed the cliff face to the summit.

And now he had Kageyama Tobio—another star far out of Tsutomu’s orbit.

“Why did you choose the Rockets in the end?” Semi asked, and he sounded genuinely interested. “I … uh … I thought you might go somewhere without ... where you might get to be a starter, like a V2 team… uh … Kiryuu is … um …”

“Now who’s being tactless,” Tendou muttered out of the side of his mouth.

“Strong,” Tsutomu said simple, and frowned. He gouged a pattern in his rice with his chopsticks, a line down the middle which could, he supposed, represent a net. “I got better at volleyball when I came to Shiratorizawa because I played with Ushijima-san. Now I want to get better so I can beat him.” He glared at them, daring them to laugh, but not even Tendou smirked. “I won’t improve surrounded by weaker players.”

“Exactly right,” came a voice.

A voice which caused Tsutomu’s heart to leap in his chest, and his throat to close.

Tendou leapt up. “Wakatoshi, you made it! It’s a … a … a …”

“If he says miracle, I’ll gag him,” Semi interrupted. He stood up, too, inclining his head to Ushijima. “It is good to see you again, Wakatoshi-kun. We weren’t sure you’d be able to make it.”

“I had some time,” Ushijima replied, and sat at the table, completely unaware of the stir his sudden appearance had caused as the other Shiratorizawa players gaped in awe. He nodded to Tsutomu. “You do not mind that I am here?”

“No,” he squeaked, then fake-coughed to cover up his nerves. “Thank you for making the effort. It’s an—”

He wanted to say honour, which it really was, but in front of everyone—especially Shirabu’s sharp ears—it sounded cringy. He felt his face flush, but then half the first and second years were blushing at Ushijima’s unexpected appearance.

“Good of you,” he decided on instead, but whether anyone was listening by the time he’d spluttered out his sentence, he had no idea.

“Our kouhai’s gonna be a Rocket,” Tendou said, flopping his head onto Tsutomu’s shoulder. “They grow up so fast.”

“A good team,” Ushijima replied, then damned with the faintest of praise even if he didn’t realise. “With potential.”

“Kiryuu’s strong!” Tsutomu said eagerly, wondering if there was anything he could say to dent Ushijima’s unswerving confidence.

“Yes.” Accepting a glass of iced water from Reon, Ushijima raised it almost to his lips, and then chinked his glass with Semi’s. “And so are you, Goshiki-kun. I look forward to our battles.”


End file.
